Court of Feathers

Seven

Word Count: 2,645

After a few more questions were asked, most concerning Shiro's mechanical prosthetic to make sure it wasn't dangerous in any way, and Shiro assuring several times that they were indeed, not Galra, the king stood from where he had perched himself on one of the chairs in the room, fixing them both with a satisfied stare.

"Thank you for being patient, I can understand how this may be stressful to you both, considering what you two have been through."

Shiro nodded, "No, it's fine, you're just trying to make sure we aren't a threat, we understand. If you have any more questions we are more than willing to answer them."

The king smiled, "That offer alone reassures me that you both seemed like very civilized human beings. Until I find a way to get you two back to your planet, you are welcome to stay here, my son, Lance, can show you around the castle and get you situated in your rooms, his room isn't far from yours and you shouldn't have a problem finding it," he spoke to Shiro, throughout most of the questioning, he now turned to make eye contact, his gaze steady, "and if you need anything, do not hesitate to ask."

Shiro smiled, grateful for that warm welcome. Throughout the questioning, Shiro had slowly migrated to Keith's side; he now stood not far from the teen's side, who now looked like he could fall to the floor from standing on his feet for so long. "Thank you."

With a gentle nod and an awkward bow from the two humans the avian left, the door clicking softly shut behind him.

Keith let out a heavy sigh, pushing out "finally" before collapsing on the bed with an exhausted plop.

Shiro chuckled and joined him, his eyes lost in thought, glued to no certain spot on the wall in front of him, turning to watch as Keith moved himself to where he was on his back, pale arms crossed as he stared at the ceiling above, "I thought that would never end," he grumbled.

Shiro sighed, laying back on the mattress and joining him, staring at the ceiling high above them.

Well, to Shiro, at least, it was high. Living in a single-roomed shack tended to give you little ceiling space, but Shiro had been given the property for free by the Garrison, so he supposed it was fine enough for him to stand. Keith had slowly gotten used to it as well, and Shiro could guess that the mere size of the room they were in alone dwarfed their tiny shack in comparison.

"Avians," Keith whispered under his breath, "avians," he repeated, getting used to the word, "did you ever think we would be meeting avians, Shiro?" The teen sat up to stare down at him, but he just sighed and kept his eyes glued to the ceiling.

After a second or ten of silence, Shiro shrugged, he was still trying to wrap his brain around that small fact himself. "I don't know. It makes sense now, with the cliffs and everything, but-" Shiro frowned at the plaster. Throughout the entire interrogation, King Alfor hadn't once explained in great detail where they were, all that Shiro could piece together that they were in the biggest city on the planet, sitting on, easily, one of the biggest suspended islands on the entire globe.

But the Galra. The king never mentioned who they were, but from what Shiro had gathered, they were anything but friendly and hadn't been seen in, what Shiro could guess, months.

"-but it feels like they're trying to hide something."

Keith hummed in agreement, lying back down, "Something seems kinda off. Did you notice? As soon as you mentioned that portal thing, it was like he was suddenly itching to get out of here."

He nodded, oh, Shiro noticed, the king's eyes began to go between them and the door as the questions continued. He had a feeling that the curiosity alone about the two humans in front of him was the only thing keeping him rooted to the room in the first place. "We need to get some answers," he thought aloud, "there's something they're not telling us."